One of the concerns in the current political debate is the focus on ideologies rather than people.

Politicians spend too much time expounding their ideologies that are irrelevant to the daily issues confronting ordinary people.

Salote Radrodro

Take for example Opposition MP Salote Radrodro’s blanket attack against the 2018-2019 National Budget. She was critical of what she called “freebies” and the “vote-buying initiatives.”

She said the Government should hang its head in shame for what she labelled a callous disregard for our nation’s young.

She refused to recognise the unprecedented help given to families. Instead, she said the initiatives would cause more hardships to families.

How would the $1000 given to mothers of newborn babies, the longer maternity leave and for the first time paternity and family care leave, cause more hardships to families?

In fact, it would bring relief to parents, especially those who earn $30,000 and less a year. If Mrs Radrodro had visited the maternity wing at CWM Hospital and talked to some of the mothers that go through the system there, they would disagree with her and tell her they needed the $1000. These mothers come from the lower socio-economic group. Mrs Radrodro might have changed her script.

But like most of her colleagues, she was bent on rubbishing the Budget because politics has taken precedence. It is even surprising that for a former senior civil servant who served in the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, we would expect her to understand the women’s plight. She chose to disregard it. Instead she opposed the Budget. With it are the initiatives for the families.

Ro Teimumu

It was uncharacteristic of Opposition leader Ro Teimumu Kepa to stand up in Parliament and read out names of all Muslim countries which had ministries of economies but failed to mention Israel.  It is unclear what the motive of that statement was. But it confirms the party’s obsession on anti-Muslim sentiments. It is possible that the party’s speech writers may have written her speech and she forgot to have a final read before presenting it.

Great Council of Chiefs

A number of Opposition MPs said when SODELPA won the election and formed the Government it would bring back the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC). The GCC is not on the people’s priority list. Bread and butter issues top that list. In fact, the GCC is no longer relevant. We have been without it for several years now and no one is protesting except for the politicians.

The GCC has been part of SODELPA’s ideology – that it is the repository for all things iTaukei or indigenous. The fact is its scrapping has not had any significant negative impact on the iTaukei or the country.

The major difference between the Opposition and the Government right now is the Opposition focuses on ideologies while the Government is more people oriented.

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